Dana parks



. D. PARKS.. Self Leveling Shipfs:l Berth. Y No. 224,469. l Patented Feb. 10,1880,

N-'PEIERS, PHOTo-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D. C,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANA"` vPARKS, vOI" BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

-sl-:LF-LEVELING 'si-nps `eifm'ri-i.

SPEGIHCATION formiile part of Letters Patent No. 224,469, dated February 10, 1880. Application tiled October 8, 1879. p

To all whom it may concern: y Y y Be it known that L'DANA PARKS, of' Bos-Y ton, Suii'olk county, Massachusetts, have inven ted an l-mprovementin Self-Leveling Ships Berths, of which the following is a yspecifica-k tion. i

My Vinvention relates to the sleeping-berths used upon'ocean-steamers and passenger-vessels and it consists in a certain novel arrangement and construction whereby the berth will at all times remain poised in a horizontal plane, no matter what the movement vof the vessel may be. Y y i My said invention will first be fully de'- scribed, and then more briefly detinedand specified in the claims. In the drawings forming part of this speci- Iication, Figure l is a perspective view illus- .trating my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of Fig. l. Fig. 8 is a detail view, showing the foot of the berth with the supports by which the berth is sustained, and

by which it is allowed to move freely in both directions.

The same letters of reference indicate like parts in all-the iigures. y A in the drawings represents a portion of an ordinary state-room upon a sea-going vessel, and B indicates the berth, of which there are always two in each stateroom, one placed above the other. At the head and foot of the berth B are placed metallic supporting-blocks C, (vide Fig. 3,) having at the lower end a trunnion, D, which engages with a shell, E, attached to the centerof the end of the berth,

and as near the top as possible, in order to locate the center of gravity as far as possible below the point of support.

In order to render the connection between the trunnion D and shell E perfectly secure it may, perhaps, be found desirable to form a spline upon one,running in a groove formed in the other; but I do not apprehend that this Y will be a necessity, since, with accurate workmanship, the end-thrustof the berth will be received upon the supporting-blocks C, which are perfectly supported behind upon the frictionways F, hereinafter to be described, so that no space is allowed for the shell to slip ofi' the trunnion.

' The supporting-block C `is suspended by means of a-chailroriother suitable device, Gr, att-achedto the block iu any suitable manner. From the point ot' attachmentv thechain rises to a pulley, I, to the periphery ot'. which it is attached, `asshown in Fig. 2. This pulley I propose to journal upon friction-sheaves, in order to impartlperfect ease of motion, since it is through these elements that [provide for the end motion of the berth.

. It will be noticed that the chain winds upon the lhead-pulley in one direction and-'upon the foot-pulley in an opposite direction. In order. to prevent the chain unwinding by the weight of the parts, and thus dropping the berth to the'full length of the chains, I connect said pulleys by a rod or bar, K, attached at its ends to a projecting piece formed upon the circumference of the pulley, as shown at a. The bar K is weighted with alight mass of metal, K', to give stability of motion to the pulleys. v v Y Behind the metal blocks G are placed ways F, which are set into the bulk-heads and provided with a series of friction-rolls, b b, which afford an easy friction-bearing to the supportingblock C, whereby thee-nd motion of the berth is rendered smooth and all unnecessary friction eliminated.

The operation of my berth is as follows: When the weight of the occupant is placed therein it is evident that all lateral motion or rocking ofthe ship will -be compensated by the pivotal supports or trunnion and shell D E, so that the berth will at all times remain in a horizontal position so far as lateral moy One great advantage of my invention is that I am able to construct `the ordinary passengerberth inV accordance therewith without any sacrifice of space, while the simplicity ofthe mechanism, the whole support being located at the head and foot only,'enables me to secure the necessary action with a small number of mechanical elements and economy of expenditure.

The friction-Ways F may be set into the bulk-heads of the state-room a suitable distance to secure a perfect economy of space, it being only necessary to leave space enough between the ends of the berth and the bulk-heads to admit the small end movement of the berth.

The rod K is a convenience to the occupant of the state-room in entering the berth, as it affords a grasp for one or both hands. In practice the upper berth is so placed that its casing or frame partly covers and almost wholly conceals the two pulleys from which the lower berth is suspended.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. A ships berth supported entirelyat head and foot by movable trunnion-blocks, which are suspended from connected sheaves provided With a controlling-weight, whereby both the lateral and the fore-and-aft motion is compensated, substantially as set forth.

2. A swinging ships berth supported entirely at head and foot by movable trunnionblocks, in combination with pulleys to which said blocks are connected and a Weighted rod connecting said pulleys, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination ofa swinging berth with movable trunnion-blocks at head and foot, a chain or other fiexible suspending device vattached to said trunnion-blocks, a pulley over which said chain is Wound, and abar connecting the pulley at the head with that at the foot, said bar being suitably Weighted, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the Swingin g berth B, of the trunnion-blocks C and friction-Ways F, having frictionrolls b b b, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, with the swinging berth B, of the movable trunnion-blocks C, the ways F, having friction-rolls b b, the suspendingchains G, the pulleys I I, and the Weighted connecting-bar K, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. DANA PARKS..

Witnesses:

CHAs. B. TILDEN, CHAs. E. HIBBARD. 

